


A Little Bit Of Rest

by wallaby_and_waffle



Series: Miraculous Fics [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya is Rena Rouge, Angst, Anxiety, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Identity Reveal, Nino is Carapace, Panic Attack, Stress, Wallaby_not_Waffle, anxiety attack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-02 06:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12721554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallaby_and_waffle/pseuds/wallaby_and_waffle
Summary: The big showdown. Akumas are rising more and more frequently, stronger and smarter than before. Paris is plunged into chaos and the small group of heroes have a big week ahead of them.A story by Wallaby





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya wanted a showdown fic so I made one .-. 
> 
> There will be a reveal so yay
> 
> Each chapter spans a day in the weeklong showdown between good and evil, Akuma and Miraculous. Since Hawkmoth/Papillon is confirmed as Gabriel Agreste imma keep it that way now so yeah.
> 
> This first chapter is in Marinette’s P.O.V, but I might have Alya next :)
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

This is not how I expected the week to go. 

Hawkmoth seemed to be getting desperate, putting more time into his Akumas. There were more attacks, and they were stronger, faster.

Master Fu had choosen 2 other holders, granting his own miraculous to another. The other one granted was the one Lila had tried to fake, the fox miraculous. Rena Rouge and Carapace were talkented, and at this point in time, we needed it.

Akumas went from once every 4 days to 2... and then a daily affair. I haven’t gotten a proper nights sleep since, well, I can’t even remember. Tonight will be different. I will sleep soundly as my body sinks into the comfort of my mattress and my muscles relax. Tikki will sleep by my head and snore quietly, and I will sleep.

But first a torturous week had to pass. No, a torturous year.

 

-:-

 

My groggy brain registers the high-pitches voice of Tikki, who is pulling at my ear.

“Marinette!” I hear through the groggy buzz of my head. “Akkkuuummmaaaa!” I groan, not registering.

“Sleeeppppp.” I moan, flipping from my side to my stomach, face first into the pillow. Tikki keeps shrieking what filters through as nonsense to me. Her high-pitched voice becomes dull background noise as I drift back into unconsciousness. And then a bang.

I jolt up, to come face to face with Tikki, giving me the ‘I told you so’ look. I transform, second nature to the sound of an explosion, or screams, or really anything signaling Akuma. The past year had really taken a hold on everyone. Paris’s GPA average plummeted over the past year, the Akuma attacks really getting to people. The constant stress and fear grew as they became more dangerous and less forgiving, as if Hawkmoth had no morality left. While the Miraculous suits are everything-proof, protecting of us from damage, the citizens of Paris are damagable, breakable.

I hop into the jarringly chilly, unbearably rainy morning, to see flames just 2 blocks away.

Pulling out my Yo-Yo, I call the team to see who’s online. That’s what Rena calls it. It’s a metaphor, like we are in a video game. We can only contact each other in-game when the other is in-game as well.

Chat, of course, picks up. “Hello m’lady!” He says, the lopsided grin taking up half the camera. My stomach tingles for a moment. Adrien’s perfect, but Chat is... Chat. According to magic, we’re meant to be together, whether platonic, or romantic, or any other relationship.

”Hey, Chat. How close are you?” I ask, my eyes flickering towards the scene. “It looks pretty dangerous, don’t wanna start without a dance partner.” I explain. “Know where Rena is?” I add, laughing. His dramatically mock-distraught face is entertaining.

“Meet me on top of the Bakery.” He says. “Chat out.” The call ends. The bakery has become the meeting place for us, it’s backony providing even ground to take assessment of the situation and visible meeting place. It helps that I live right beneath, but they don’t need to know that.

”Hello, M’lady!” I hear the familiar voice call. I turn around to see Chat Noir landig gracefully on the balcony, and Carapace landing less than graceful behind him. He fell on his face.

If I weren’t so strung on anticipation, I would make a comment about his “landing”, and Chat heads straight for the nearest turtle joke in sight.

”Sometimes slow and steady doesn’t win the race, huh?” He grins, patting him on the back, before turning to me. “Where’s Rena?” I check again, biting my lip to see she’s still offline. 

“A-Wol.” I sigh, snapping the YoYo shut. “How ‘bout we check it out?” I suggest, hoping maybe she’ll show up. 

The other two shrug and look at each other. “I dunno, dude, but we’ve gotta get in there, fast.” Carapace points out. I sigh. What if we make contact with the Akuma, only to realize we need Rena?  What if we get caught, and she can’t find us? I check one more time, to see she’s suited up.

I call her, and after 3 rings, she picks up. “Thank God, how far out are you?” I hurriedly ask. 

“Not far from the Bakery. Are the others there?” She asks. 

“Yeah.” I nod, glancing at the them. Then I notice something behind. Faint, but reminds me a lot of...

”Shit!” I yell. “Hurry.” I close out before pointing to the sight. “Look.” Chat and Carapace turn around, in perfect sync, to take it in.

”Oh, Shit!” They say in unison. 

“Fire.” I say, a mix of rage and fear filling my thoughts. “We have to defeat whatever the Akuma is, fast. If it’s a public place...” I trail off, not wanting to say it.

”Civilian Suffering.” Chat finishes. The first time someone had died then been brought back by my lucky charm, we learned that the memories don’t go away. The victim will forever have that memory, playing over and over, forever.

We sit in silence for a moment, before Rena drops in. “Hello!” She says cheerily. We turn, grim faced, to her, and she drops the desperate attempt at cheer, content. She looks towards the distant glow. “Fire?” She asks. I nod quietly, not wanting to speak. I just want to hide, to crawl back through the skylight and pretend that today is good, I am safe.

I look towards the growing smoke cloud. Today is gonna suck.

 

 

 

We follow the fire, landing just out of sight of the giant lava monster that Chat catches a glimpse of. Rena silently peeks over before an angry whisper. 

“Oh hell, no.” She curses. We give her a questioning look.

”3 Akumas.” She explains. Chat and I look at each other in surprise. We didn’t even know you could do that. 

“3?” I confirm.

”Yeah... I only caught a glimpse, but-“

”Is that Volpina?” Chat asks. I turn back to Chat, who is peeking over. I look up too, and see Volpina, a guy dressed like a 1700’s British Redcoat, and a giant lava monster. They’ve taken over a Bank, or, the remenants of it. Most of it was in flames.

”Hell. Poor Lila” I groan, pulling Chat down with me.

“Wait, doesn’t Volpina make illusions like Rena?” Carapace asks.

”Those could be illusions.” Rena nods. I consider it.

”Here.” I throw my yo-yo at the lava monster, hoping it will pass through and the illusion will disappear. But I’m not so lucky. “They’re real.” I confirm, ducking as the monster turns toward our position.

”Ok, what now?” 

“I’ll go left, Chat, take right, Rena, go front, Carapace, go back.” I order, making movements with my hands. 

“Why can’t I take left?” Chat asks, making kitten eyes at me.

”Because I said so.” 

He mock-pouts, crossing his arms.

“I’ll make sure no reporters are in the area, Alright?” Rena adds.

I nod. “Keep an eye out for Alya Césaire, the Ladyblogger.” I remind her. I can’t have Alya near here, and I’m not sure she has the sense to stay away. She’s backed off this past year, but this is a big one and I know she’d have the urge.

”Y-yeah.” Rena nods. “For sure.” She always acts weird when I mention Alya, but I don’t take mind to it.

“Ok.” _You can do this, You can do this, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this._.. “ 3... 2...” _You can do this, You can do this, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this_... I take a deep breath. “1.”

 

 

 

We tried, over, and over. We almost made it our first shot, but the Carapace was slapped by the monster halfway to Sunday, and the Soldier started duplicating. I’m not joking. He split into 2... then 4... he has a total of 10 soldiers including himself, which would be less scary except for the face that they were completely in sync, not needing to communicate. And we don’t know which is which.

”We need to re-group!” I call, blocking an attack by Volpina. “Follow me!”

We’ve been at this for the whole day, and we’re getting sloppy. Our Kwamis can’t get sick. I throw my YoYo, getting myself to the nearest building. The others follow suit, traveling no more than 3 blocks away.

”Wait, where are they?” Carapace asks, scanning the path we took. They were nowhere to be seen. Why weren’t they following us? “Well we should take advantage of the peace, take a nap?” He stretched his arms behind him, closing his eyes. Chat did the same, stretching out his body next to Carapace’s, casually throwing an arm around Carapace. 

“I’m getting the feeling Hawkmoth is going by routine...” Rena says. What if Rena’s right? 

“Look, now we know what we’re up against, and we can plan accordingly. We need to use our abilities all at once, get the best odds possible.” I say. 

“Yeah, but what happens if we don’t do it and our Miraculouses run out?” Chat points out. “We don’t have any food to re-charge.”

”We aren’t doing so well, it’s been hours. We don’t have much energy left, and our Kwamis are probably in terrible shape, too.” I reply. Rena nods.

”Yeah, look.” She pulls up a large illusion a map of the city. She zooms in on the battleground. “They aren’t leaving. They aren’t going to leave the Bank. Hawkmoth’s playing a different game.” She zooms out, before pulling up a large building. “It’s an old sweets factory, south west of here. If we need, we can take shelter there.”

”What about our Kwamis? And us?” Chat reminds. 

“Does kitty need some fancy feast?” I ask mockingly. Chat just looks at me, not bothering to reply. I’ve been trying to take a light spin on this, but I know how dangerous this is. We could die.

”Look. What if we go home, meet back up later?” Carapace suggests. When no one answers, he thinks about it, to realize that we need to stay together. “Oh.” 

“I hate to say it, but we might have to know eachother’s identities.” Rena says.

We sit there in silence, defeated. “If we do, We have to make sure we aren’t caught. If Hawkmoth catches one of us, he’s essentially gotten all of us.” I finally say. “We can’t undo it, so we have to be sure.” Chat nods, the usual smile gone from his face.

”If we do this, there’s no going back.” Carapace repeats, looking down at his hands. “But we have to.” 

We sit there in silence, for about a minute, before a scream rings out. 

“We have to use our abilities all at once, maybe we have a shot.” I say, before standing up. 

“Ready?” Rena says, putting her hand in. The rest of us do the same. “Break.”

 

-:-

 

It failed, horribly. When my lucky charm failed, the Miraculous Cure failed. The Akuma hadn’t been captured, and so it failed.

The monster is quickly advancing toward Carapace, who has been pinned by 3 soldiers. 

“Careful!” Rena calls, running towards him. Chat abandons me to help him, as I get hit by Volpina’s flute. 4 soldiers charge, in a line. 2 others run from the opposite direction, all towards me and Volpina. At the last second, I throw my yo-yo to the nearest building, and fly off. I turn to see the soldiers picking themselves up, after having evidently running into each other.

I spot the others fighting off the soldiers and Volpina. “Run!” I call, and Chat hears, pushing the akumas as far out of the way as possible. He picks up Carapace, who is in bad shape, and Rena holds them off while Chat gets to safety. He lays Carapace on the rooftop, and I swung towards them.

“Get Rena.” Chat says, pointing at the girl being overtaken by the akumas.

I go to throw my yo-yo to swing back into the fight when I hear Carapace moan and utter something. “What’s that?” I ask, turning back to him. 

“I got it.” Chat kneels down to listen, before grabbing my hand. “Wait, What?” Chat’s head snaps towards me. 

“What?” I ask. 

“He said... Don’t let Alya’s miraculous run out.” Chat stares at me for a second, before turning back to him. “Say that again?” 

“D-don’t let A-Alya's Miraculous run out.” Carapace stumbles over his words. “Wait wha-?” At that moment, our miraculous beeps. 1 minute. 

“Shit!” I yell. I swing down, grabbing Rena and pulling her up to safety. She clings onto my leg, screaming curses at the Akumas, and it clicks in my head. She acts exactly like Alya. I mention Alya, and she gets awkward. Her hair, her voice, her posture, it is all the same. 

I don’t say anything, simply slinging Carapace over my shoulder. We run, fast as possible, towards the sweets factory. Carapace is light, luckily, and I easily keep up with the others. I trip quite a bit,  though, the imbalance screwing with me.

I land in front of the large, industrial doors just as my Miraculous runs out. I hear everyone else transform as well, and I fight the urge to see, to know. 

“I don’t know if I can do it, I don’t want to disappoint all of you.” 

“Marinette...” I hear Chat’s voice, and then his hand a heavy weight on my shoulder.

”It’s just us, Mari.” I hear Rena, no, Alya’s voice add. 

“I know who you are, Alya. Carapace gave it away.”

I hear a huff, and then a furious “NINO!”

”Open your eyes, Marinette.” I hear the exhausted voice of Tikki order. I swallow, opening my eyes to see Adrien.

I feel my face flush, as my eyes widen and my breathing speeds up. “Y-you’re...” my eyes flutter as I fight tears. “You’re the same person...” Adrien smiles softly at me, and I tear away, letting the tears come. 

“I’m sorry, I know you’re disappointed. I-I’ve failed all of you, I’m not who you expected. You expected strength and courage but it’s just me, plain old ordinary Marinette.” The tears take over and I melt, sinking to my knees and covering my face with my hands. My anxiety surges, pumping my head with terrible thoughts, which I can’t discern from real words being said.

”Marinette.” I hear Adrien say. “You are anything but plain.” 

“Liar.” I hiss, ripping out my tight pigtails to let the hair cover my face. 

“Smart? Check. Kind, check. Brave, check. Strong? Oh yeah, check. Beautiful? Definite yes.” Adrien says. “Those are the words I’d use to describe you. And the same Chat would use for Ladybug. Because we are the same, with or without the mask.”

I smile, the tears slowing. “I love you, M’lady.” He declares, and I bite my lip. Adrien loves me. I feel arms surrounding me, picking me up. “We will beat Hawkmoth, together.” 

“Sleep first.” I hear Nino groan, and I catch a glimpse of him sitting up. 

“Yeah.” Adrien agrees. He grabs my face with his soft hands, brushing the tears from my face with his thumbs. “We’ll beat him, you understand? We will defeat him.” 


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya takes care of a couple of things, and the team goes for round 2. Meanwhile, Adrien and Marinette avoid talking about a little thing Adrien mentioned and Alya laughs at their senselessness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! I got great feedback on the first chapter, so I am writing another! This one is from Alya’s point of view, mostly for a more comedic perspective.
> 
> I haven’t really attempted angsty writing before, so tell me how I’ve been doing in this work, and what I can improve on (please)... I also want to say I am open to any suggestions for bits of the plot in the future 5 chapters, and I might make this into a series, after this is over.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Wallaby

I jolted awake at the sound of a clatter. I look around, searching for the sound’s origin. My point of view is useless, Marinette’s head resting on my shoulder and Nino’s on the other. I look to see Adrien sleeping as well, using Nino’s legs as a pillow. 

Though I have no idea of Adrien, Nino and Mari both sleep like the dead, so I silently shift them so Nino’s head is resting on Marinette’s, while her head is resting on his shoulder. Adrien is still fast asleep, so I go to check out the sound. 

I creep around a large crate, labeled ‘this side up.’ The old factory hadn’t been used in 10 years, and the walls were covered in graffiti and spider webs. I step along the large warehouse we took shelter in, not seeing anything. But as I turn around, assuming it was a dream, a hallucination, I hear it again. And it’s followed by 2 words, uttered in a raspy, high-pitched voice.

”My... Cheese...” Though I only formally met him once, I could easily identify the kwami’s voice from anywhere. The easily noticeable conversations initiated by the ridiculous Kwami in the middle of class we hard to ignore, the voice filling my head.

”Plagg!” I hiss. The little cat-god popped up from behind a desk, before plopping pnnit dramatically. “Where are the other Kwamis?”

”Oh, who knows! Why would I care without Camembert?” He puts a paw to his head, mock-fainting, a sigh pushing from his... lungs? Do Kwamis have lungs?

”Listen, I know you had to eat stale cookies from Marinette’s purse, but if you can tell me everything we can use to help defeat Hawkmoth, I will personally buy you the largest wheel of Camembert I can find. Deal?” I raise an eyebrow at the Kwami as he shoots up.

”Deal.”

 

-:-

 

“Wake up!” I shake the others awake. I snuck to the gas station down the road for breakfast, knowing if we weren’t fed we’d still be useless. Adrien sat up, groggily, and I handed him a coffee, an apple, and a bag of donuts. “Eat.” I instructed. “Share, I already ate.” I added, handing him 2 more apples and a bag of pepperoni sticks. Protein, carbs, sugar, and whatever was healthy about apples. 

I sat down close, leaning against a crate hosting a large hole in the corner. I watched as Marinette and Adrien avoided each other, forcing Nino to pass, ask, and communicate. It was almost entertaining, especially with the knowledge I already had. 

Let’s just say that it didn't take long to figure out the identities. According to Trixx, no one could figure it out unless there was direct evidence, like seeing a Kwami or transformation. Nino and I told each other immediately, much to the objection of our Kwamis. Once we learned we were both chosen we had a good laugh, and it didn’t take long to figure out the others.

Marinette would randomly talk to her bag, which seemed normal due to the Miraculous Magic. But then I saw Tikki hide when I came up to surprise Marinette, and it was all over. While I was psyched, as well as hurt for not being told, Ladybug had specifically said multiple times, including on live television, that she was about the work. That she needed her privacy. That she had to protect her friends and family. 

So I didn’t tell.

Adrien. Well, he was worse than Marinette. He wouldn’t just talk to his bag, his Kwami would hang out, Adrien always smelled like cheese, and I saw Plagg one day, being flung out of Adrien’s bag when Adrien carelessly dropped it. 

So yeah, they suck at lying.

Nino told me, and so, I, in return, told him.

That was fun.

I pick up the mess, stashing the leftovers in a crate in the corner, before the dreaded question popped up:

”Are we ready to go back?” 

The question hangs in the air, hated and neglected. Marinette’s solemn face matches her Kwami’s, who nods gently.

”We have to get to Hawkmoth.” Trixx states. He lands in front of the circle of human and Kwami, crossing his arms.

“The four of you combined don’t have enough firepower to fight all three Akumas. You need to take his miraculous.”

”His Akuma victims will be freed, and you’ll just have to cleanse the Akumas. The Akumas can still multiply, the victims attacked will simply be free to do whatever they wish.” Wayzz piped up.

”Oh.” Nino murmurs, fiddling with his cap.

We sit in silence for a moment, processing. How the hell are we supposed to find Hawkmoth?

”Well, we should go, huh?” Adrien asks, avoiding the gaze of everyone.

Everyone.

”We need a plan.” Marinette looks up, her voice shaky. “To get the him, we need to create enough racket he makes a move.” She looks out the dirty window, taking a deep breath.

”We need to draw him out. Alya, could you create an illusion to fake one of us...” she swallows, as if she has trouble choosing her words. “...dying? Trapped?”

Her words strike me, and a pang in my chest strikes like a snake. “I suppose, but would he fall for it?”

”It’s our only shot.”

 

 

 

“Are you ready?” I ask, glancing at the others.

They nod in unison, not making a peep. 

“Remember the plan. My illusion of myself will fly, before becoming trapped, and hopefully, Hawkmoth will fall for it.”

I take a deep breath, before putting the flute to my lips.  _Don’t scre this up._  I imagine myself, flying, dodging attacks, before being pinned under a large piece of debris. A chunk of concrete coming from the building above me. Tears come to my eyes as I see the illusion come to life, making quick loops between limbs, debris, akumas, and friends.

Then, an uncalculatable mistake. Our shaky plan just proved to be useless, as I watch Ladybug fly directly into my clone before I can move it.

And it disappears.

”NO!” I yell, flying in as my clone disintegrates and I hear my necklace ring out the first warning. I hit the Lava monster in the head, confusing it for long enough to get a decent look at it.

What is that on it’s neck? I fly towards it, forgetting about the fight as I examine it. 

It’s the only thing not covered in Lava. 

“The Akuma is on it’s-“ I am grabbed with a flaming hot hand. “No! “Let. Go!” I yell, squirming to get out of the burning hold. I scream in pain as it tightens it’s grip around my body, which suddenly feels small and weak. 

“It’s Neck!” I yell, hoping someone will hear. Chat does, thankfully, and jumps onto the monster’s opposite arm, climbing up. He carefully scales the arm, making it to the shoulder before preparing to break the object.

”NO!” The monster roars, slapping him away. Chat extends his stick, bouncing back towards me.

“Get ready!” He yells. I blink, and his staff has wedged between the scalding hand and my body, as he pries the fingers apart. I take no time to fly out and grab the item, smashing it on the ground.

“LB!” I yell, turning towards where she just was. But she isn’t there.

”Uh-oh.” My eyes dart around, looking for... something. 

“Shelly!” I signal, and he sees the Akuma. 

“Trap it in the shield!”

He runs, jumps, and smashes it into the ground. 

“Hold it there, I’ll find LB!” I fly off, leaving the two to handle the akumas.

-:-

Where is she? She isn’t answering her phone, neither Miraculous or normal.

With most of the city evacuated, it shouldn’t be hard to find a single girl, likely wandering the streets of Paris.

”Ladybug!” I yell, my voice becoming raspy. “MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG, WHERE THE SHIT ARE YOU!” Then I catch my eye on the TV building in the distance, where I could do a city-wide yell for her.

It wasn’t hard to break into the Kid’s TV+ building, and I found the studio with ease. I set it to broadcast on the channel I knew everyone was watching, and hoped it’d broadcast in public, too.

Its a long-shot, but I don’t think Nino and Adrien alone could hold the Akumas much longer.

I set the cameras rolling live.

”Hey, Rena here. We can’t find Ladybug. If you see her, call this number.” I write down the number of my phone, the one bearing the charm, on a piece of paper.

I’m revealing my identity. Holy shit, I’ll need a new phone. Oh well.

”And LB, if you are seeing this, come on, we have to go. This is the final battle, we can’t have you go AWOL.”

I leave the cameras rolling, the paper attached to a chair for anyone tuning in.

”PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ATTACK.”

I fly  back to the fight to see it gone. No Akuma, no Chat, No Carapace, and no Ladybug.

I look up at the moonlit sky, before my exhaustion catches up with me. I have only the time to fly to Marinette’s, the closest of our four houses, before passing out the moment I hit the bed.


End file.
